The moments that take our breath away….

I am not completely certain of my feelings about comedian George Carlin. I didn’t really follow him and don’t know too much about him, except his well-known “speaking ability”. Anyhow, I am a member of the Women in Niagara business networking group and in the end-of-year director/magazine, I read this speech from George Carlin and thought, “wow, that really speaks volumes!” So, I decided to post it here. Why? Because it is a good reminder of staying true to your priorities, taking the excess out of your life and getting to the real heart of things. Namely, weddings and planning events! Ha, I jest. Honestly, as a Christian, for me, the real priorities are what we call the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And so you might be thinking how does this apply in terms of wedding and event planning…some examples….

1. Peace, Goodness & Joy: Remind yourself why you are planning this event: celebrating the birthday of a loved one, the desire to publicly share in the decision you made to share your lives together, to raise money for a really important community charity etc…..Remember this, when the details overwhelm you….

2. Kindness: I absolutely love weddings where the couple use the money people give them at the reception for a good cause or their favors are seeds for planting flowers and trees.

3. Patience & Self-Control: Most events are notorious for becoming stressful and in that stress, we can easily be irritated. Whether it’s the flower girl who doesn’t want to throw the pretty flowers on the floor, the ringbearer that doesn’t smile for pictures or the slideshow that is resolute on making today its day off, these are the moments that can make us laugh, but only if we have patience and see the bigger picture of the overall moment, not the detail.

4. Love & Faithfulness: This is where you show love and have tons of faith in your planner….I would vouch to say that all events have, as their foundation for why they are even being organized in the first place, love and faith. Would one marry someone they didn’t love? Would one spend countless hours writing to sponsors in order to raise money for a good cause? It’s all in the name of love and faith that the hard work and effort will do a great deal of good!

And on that note: Here is George Carlin’s speech –

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Contest is now closed: Congrats to Mark & Madeleine!

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